A FORMER Labour MP has claimed he was "stitched up" at the 2024 General Election as a candidate from London was "parachuted" in to run for a Welsh seat.
Geraint Davies, who represented Swansea West from 2010 to 2024, has said he disagrees with claims from the party he was treated fairly when disqualified from standing for re-election.
According to Nation.Cymru, he says he was "stitched up" so that Torsten Bell, who now holds the seat, could be “parachuted” in from London.
Davies was unable to seek re-election in 2024 because of delays in investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women which he denied.
The allegations, which did not involve criminal conduct, were due to be considered by an independent panel but when the General Election in 2024 was called by Rishi Sunak, no panel hearing had been convened in time and he was barred from standing again.
He later quit the party over what he deemed to have been an unfair process overseen by Labour’s then executive legal director, Alex Barros-Curtis.
Barros-Curtis was also "parachuted" into a vacant seat in Wales where local party members were reportedly excluded from involvement in the selection process.
Davies said he was put on "political death row" by Labour.
He said: "On June 1 2023, I was suspended from the Labour Party on the day anonymous uncorroborated allegations that I denied were posted about me on a political website and repeated across the media. I was suspended early that morning on the basis of a complaint apparently based on those allegations.
“Shockingly, I was never provided with a copy of that complaint, despite asking the party for it many times. On every occasion I was either refused or ignored.
“No allegation that has been posted in the media has ever materialised into a complaint. I was essentially put on a political death row by the Labour Party.
“I was gagged by the party from commenting in the media and told that if I did it would be used against me in the disciplinary inquiry.
“I was not able to say anything, resulting in speculation and gossip filling the vacuum locally and nationally. Consequently, I have been subjected to a witch hunt and trial by the media based on hearsay, while the party, for its part, apparently trawled for further complainants to make allegations against me. Understandably, this has had a serious impact on my mental wellbeing and that of my family.”
A Labour spokesperson said the party “assesses all complaints thoroughly in line with our rules and procedures. Any suggestion that a case would be delayed for political reasons is strongly denied, they said.
It was also suggested that the party had proposed expediting Davies’s case in February 2024, which he declined, and that a hearing proposed for May 19 2024 did not go ahead because his lawyer was unavailable.
Davies responded: “The party claims that the complaints were examined by an independent investigator. However no independent investigator’s report was ever provided to me despite my repeated requests nor was the identity of such a person revealed.
“After the election was called Diane Abbot’s candidacy was eventually confirmed and the party did consider whether to hold a paper-only hearing for me but decided it would not do so for political expediency. The party could have avoided a 23 week delay in providing any complaints and could have provided at least a paper-only hearing before the election but chose not to do so.
“I understand from Labour Party insiders that Torsten Bell was originally expected to be given Diane Abbot’s seat of Hackney North but when she decided to stand he became tipped for Cardiff West. Then when Swansea West became available, as I had not been provided with a hearing, Torsten Bell got Swansea West and the person administering my case Alex Barros-Curtis was gifted Cardiff West.
"This again clearly suggests a slap in the face for Wales as it once more gave precedence for London based parachutists over local candidates.”
